rabble.ca - public sector workershttp://rabble.ca/category/tags-issues/public-sector-workers
enPublic sector bargaining: The new boss looks a lot like the old bosshttp://rabble.ca/news/2016/03/public-sector-bargaining-new-boss-looks-lot-old-boss
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Teuila Fuatai</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news/2016/03/public-sector-bargaining-new-boss-looks-lot-old-boss"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/18504096913_2be2871481_z_0.jpg?itok=J7bgFvYr" width="1180" height="600" alt="Photo: flickr/ Canada 2020" title="Photo: flickr/ Canada 2020" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p><em>Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. <a href="https://secure.rabble.ca/donate/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chip in</a> to keep stories like these coming.</em></p>
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<p>The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) returned to the bargaining table this week for a second round of contract negotiations under Justin Trudeau's Liberal government.</p>
<p>Labour reporter Teuila Fuatai looks at what we can expect from the talks.</p>
<p><strong>The situation so far</strong></p>
<p>The collective agreements for five PSAC bargaining units, representing nearly 100,000 public servants, expired in the summer of 2014.</p>
<p>While bargaining with the Treasury Board began under Stephen Harper's government, the Conservatives' resolve to minimize the collective bargaining process and weaken union powers -- through legislation like Bill C-59 -- meant little progress was made in the past two years.</p>
<p>When bargaining resumed in February, representatives at PSAC were hopeful for a fresh perspective from the new Liberal government.</p>
<p>However, contract proposals tabled by the Treasury Board -- under the stewardship of president Scott Brison -- indicated a significantly different situation.</p>
<p><strong>Major issues</strong></p>
<p>PSAC believed the Liberal government's move to reverse parts of C-59, which enabled the elimination of the sick leave plan from its collective agreement, as well as its mandate for improved relations with unions signalled a more amicable environment at the negotiating table.</p>
<p>However, the new government's proposal to continue with the removal of the sick leave plan, while continuing to reverse the appropriate C-59 legislation, made it apparent negotiations were unlikely to be as clean as PSAC had anticipated.</p>
<p>"There were some improvements but certainly we were looking to improvements to the sick leave and not a continuation of the short-term disability program," <a href="http://ipolitics.ca/2016/02/05/largest-public-service-union-denounces-liberal-sick-leave-plan/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">PSAC president Robyn Benson told <em>ipolitics</em></a> after last month's negotiations.</p>
<p>"The Liberals had [made] huge promises over their campaign about bringing forward a new mandate but there was very little indication that there was going to be change."</p>
<p>According to the Conservatives, elimination of the sick leave plan would have created $900 million in savings for the federal government. </p>
<p>The savings estimate was based on the amount of sick leave civil servants had accumulated over the years. PSAC vehemently disputed the figure, and said the liability amount being touted by the Conservatives did not exist.</p>
<p>Following the February negotiations, the Treasury Board told reporters that while reversing the C-59 legislation was <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-sick-leave-scott-brison-1.3433896" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">"the right thing to do"</a> it did not mean the government supported rolling over the same sick leave benefit system from old contracts.</p>
<p>In addition to the sick leave changes, PSAC also raised concerns over the government's commitment to repealing changes made under Bill C-4.</p>
<p>C-4 minimized the rights of public service employees in collective bargaining, including the right to strike, and undermined health and safety provisions for workers.</p>
<p>So far, the Treasury Board has only committed to consultation meetings with public sector groups to discuss the legislation.</p>
<p>PSAC representatives have also outlined fair wage increases and reasonable treatment for members contending with changes in service delivery as negotiation focus points.</p>
<p><strong>What Trudeau promised</strong></p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.liberal.ca/open-letter-to-canadas-public-servants/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">open letter</a> to public servants from Trudeau during the federal election campaign promised a new era in government and union relations.</p>
<p>Sent in September, Trudeau stated his government would be committed to "bargaining in good faith with public sector unions".</p>
<p>"The Liberal Party of Canada opposed the provisions in the Conservatives' Bill C-59, which will create a new sick leave regime, implemented through legislation, completely outside the collective bargaining process," the letter said.</p>
<p>Trudeau also addressed changes ushered in under C-4 and acknowledged it "stacked the deck against workers with regards to their choice of dispute resolution and arbitration."</p>
<p>"We will consult with unions to revision the offending C-4 legislation," he stated.</p>
<p>These promises have been cited by PSAC as expectations during the negotiating process. </p>
<p><strong>Looking ahead</strong></p>
<p>Outcomes from this week in Ottawa will determine what happens next for PSAC.</p>
<p>When asked about the current negotiations, the union declined to comment -- saying all interviews would be deferred until the conclusion of this round of bargaining.</p>
<p>Another round of bargaining has already been planned for April.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Teuila Fuatai is a recent transplant to Canada from Auckland, New Zealand. She settled in Toronto in September following a five-month travel stint around the United States. In New Zealand, she worked as a general news reporter for the New Zealand Herald and APNZ News Service for four years after studying accounting, communication and politics at the University of Otago. As a student, she had her own radio show on the local university station and wrote for the student magazine. She is rabble's labour beat reporter this year.</em></p>
<p><em>Photo:<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/canada2020/18504096913" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> flickr/ Canada 2020</a></em></p>
<p> </p>
</p></div></div></div>Wed, 09 Mar 2016 20:12:06 +0000rabble staff123411 at http://rabble.caFree and fair collective bargaining makes a comeback in Ottawahttp://rabble.ca/news/2016/01/free-and-fair-collective-bargaining-makes-comeback-ottawa
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Teuila Fuatai</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news/2016/01/free-and-fair-collective-bargaining-makes-comeback-ottawa"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/4479542478_4e4d525d02_z.jpg?itok=ZTKDJq3O" width="1180" height="600" alt="Photo: flickr/ hku rbr" title="Photo: flickr/ hku rbr" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p><em>Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. <a href="https://secure.rabble.ca/donate/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chip in</a> to keep stories like these coming.</em></p>
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<p>As Parliament kicks into another year, federal civil servants are halting legal action against the government over controversial legislation around sick and disability leave entitlements.</p>
<p>Bill C-59, implemented in June under the Conservatives, enables the government to bypass collective agreements and directly impose new rules around sick and disability leave for federal public servants.</p>
<p>Changes desired by the then-Harper government included reducing the number of paid sick days from 15 to six and ending the ability of workers to accumulate paid sick leave.</p>
<p>It also granted the Treasury Board the power to impose or ignore clauses that had been added to the collective agreement through bargaining, a clear attack on the collective bargaining process.</p>
<p>Canada's 17 public service unions filed a constitutional challenge against it.</p>
<p>The unions also sought an injunction to prevent powers granted by C-59 being enacted until after the challenge was heard.</p>
<p>Last week, the unions announced the constitutional challenge had been put on hold after the Liberal government promised to urgently repeal the relevant section of C-59.</p>
<p>An email sent to the unions on behalf of Scott Brison, president of the Treasury Board, stated the Trudeau government "remains committed to bargaining in good faith with Canada's federal public sector."</p>
<p>"To this end, this government intends to make the repeal of C-59 one of their first orders of business," the message continued.</p>
<p>The government also confirmed no changes to sick and disability leave would be made under C-59 before it was repealed.</p>
<p>While the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) -- the largest union representing federal pubic service workers -- applauded the government's repeal promise, it raised concerns that a similar commitment had not been made to Bill C-4.</p>
<p>The legislation, also subject to a constitutional challenge, drastically changed collective bargaining rules in the public service when it passed in 2013.</p>
<p>"Treasury Board President Scott Brison has committed only to engage in consultations on Bill C-4 with 'public sector partners,'" PSAC stated on its website.</p>
<p>"Bill C-4 undermines the constitutional rights of federal public service employees to collective bargaining, including the right to strike."</p>
<p>"It also gives government negotiators an unfair advantage at the bargaining table." The government should address C-4 directly rather than spend money on litigation, the union said.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Teuila Fuatai is a recent transplant to Canada from Auckland, New Zealand. She settled in Toronto in September following a five-month travel stint around the United States. In New Zealand, she worked as a general news reporter for the New Zealand Herald and APNZ News Service for four years after studying accounting, communication and politics at the University of Otago. As a student, she had her own radio show on the local university station and wrote for the student magazine. She is rabble's labour beat reporter this year.</em></p>
<p><em>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/48858016@N05/4479542478/in/photolist-7PQPV1-55qVSC-sAkFS-CLLAnD-dQUscC-nkJriw-6pWpbF-4xKD3c-wPSib2-6pfuWq-aTenv-4GrfGV-59ydM-8s1e4L-7h8KF7-bzbX-6HTdDZ-7wPhPd-5swvnX-fpehaq-4tnyid-aybhbd-4tnyTJ-5LBbiR-6duH8Y-diGari-C7Rxg-6dg2LR-buHdXV-C6beLv-rRf616-dBKW3a-5TjGrG-6q1xus-2D3iEd-4mcwZU-fC4Xsc-6T9AXL-Cvaqx-5X1dkq-cGfSLQ-2Fkmdz-bU9Gvn-6HBeN7-g2CE92-7jn7bF-7xHZCg-7w9naY-64GWVe-5qFmtN" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">flickr/ hku rbr</a></em></p>
</p></div></div></div>Wed, 27 Jan 2016 15:01:32 +0000rabble staff122687 at http://rabble.caWelcome to the wacky world of collective bargaining in Nova Scotia http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/skimber/2015/12/welcome-to-wacky-world-collective-bargaining-nova-scotia
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Stephen Kimber</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/mcneil_walking.jpg?itok=Lg1QEl8t" width="1180" height="600" alt="Photo: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Follow/flickr" title="Photo: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Follow/flickr" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p><em>Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. <a href="https://secure.rabble.ca/donate/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chip in</a> to keep stories like these coming.</em></p>
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<p>Premier Stephen McNeil says Nova Scotia's 75,000 public sector workers are welcome to bargain collectively -- so long as they don't expect to negotiate wages. The government has determined those.</p>
<p>Working conditions? Sure. Negotiate away, but not as part of the collective bargaining process. And since they won't be part of the contract, don't expect the government to pay attention.</p>
<p>Of course, if the workers are unhappy with what the government -- in its infinite wisdom -- has decided is their fair wage and generous working conditions, they can request arbitration. Unless, of course, they're doctors, who no longer have that right. Or everyone else, who has the right to arbitration but only if the arbitrator promises not to arbitrate.</p>
<p>But not to worry. The government says it doesn't plan to implement Bill 148 -- also known as the Public Service Sustainability Act -- if its workers obey each and all of its provisions anyway. Otherwise...</p>
<p>Welcome to the un-wonderfully wacky world of public sector collective bargaining, Stephen McNeil-style.</p>
<p>Bill 148 -- the law the government has said it doesn't plan to proclaim, but was so desperate to ram through the legislature it forced MLAs to pull pre-Christmas all-nighters, corked public input and even managed to gratuitously insult a deaf Nova Scotian in the process -- will likely eventually end up on the judicial garbage heap as yet another violation of citizens' Charter rights to collective bargaining.</p>
<p>But the courts won't rule until later, until after the McNeil government has squeezed the last drop of water -- and publicity -- from the stone of public sector wages in order to create its faux balanced budget, after which it will declare victory and launch its re-election campaign.</p>
<p>Even though the province's own recent fiscal update makes clear our problem is declining revenues rather than escalating expenses, the government seems obsessed with reducing revenues while slashing expenses.</p>
<p>To save the $25 million the province's film tax credit cost, for example, the government gutted an entire industry that contributed far more than it cost. Ah, well...</p>
<p>And now it is hell-bent on strangling a public sector that pays taxes, buys houses, cars, goods, services, and contributes to society.</p>
<p>If we're not careful, this government will save us to death.</p>
<p><em><em>This article first appeared in Stephen Kimber's</em> <a href="http://www.metronews.ca/views/halifax/halifax-matters.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Halifax Metro <em>column</em></a>.</em></p>
<p><em>Photo: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/govnl/16315033286/in/photolist-oVi3Mw-zWx9pt-pUExR1-ppPddz-noFjbD-a6Tw2e-kYBbar-qRGNZm-pWZFCu-qBxC2K-qBxBPR-qBxBKc-qTZJiF-qRGN3m-qBrsyj-kFcJPd-vpZtfq-kFb74F-kFayre-kFayjF-kFayBK-kFayGV-kFb6Ep" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Follow/flickr</a></em></p>
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</p></div></div></div>Tue, 22 Dec 2015 13:28:13 +0000Skimber122196 at http://rabble.caPay study confirms wage gap for SV group http://rabble.ca/incahoots/2015/11/pay-study-confirms-wage-gap-sv-group
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-11 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/40448">Public Service Alliance of Canada</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">November 20, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://psacunion.ca/pay-study-confirms-wage-gap-sv-group" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Pay study confirms wage gap for SV group </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-summary field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">PSAC has received the SV group compensation comparability study.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/economy">Economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/labour">Labour</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/public-sector-workers">public sector workers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/wage-gap">wage gap</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/canadian-labour-movement">Canadian labour movement</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags/private-sector-workers">private sector workers</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-23 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/regions/ca">CA</a></div></div></div>Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:35:42 +0000rabble staff121658 at http://rabble.caFront-line workers need to be included in discussions about re-opening Veterans Affairs officeshttp://rabble.ca/incahoots/2015/11/front-line-workers-need-to-be-included-discussions-about-re-opening-veterans-affai
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-11 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/40448">Public Service Alliance of Canada</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">November 13, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://psacunion.ca/front-line-workers-need-be-included-discussions" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Front-line workers need to be included in discussions about re-opening Veterans Affairs offices</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-summary field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">The Public Service Alliance of Canada is happy with the federal government&#039;s announcement that it will re-open the Veterans Affairs offices that were closed by the Conservatives.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/labour">Labour</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/liberal-government">liberal government</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/public-sector-workers">public sector workers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/justin-trudeau">Justin Trudeau</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags/veterans-affairs-officies">Veteran&#039;s affairs officies</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-23 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/regions/ca">CA</a></div></div></div>Fri, 13 Nov 2015 15:44:16 +0000rabble staff121535 at http://rabble.caLabour actions escalate in Quebec over stalled negotiationshttp://rabble.ca/news/2015/10/labour-actions-escalate-quebec-over-stalled-negotiations
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">David Gray-Donald</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news/2015/10/labour-actions-escalate-quebec-over-stalled-negotiations"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/10170793_1239120059447339_7123524857847205795_n.jpg?itok=q80j_Lyn" width="1180" height="600" alt="Photo: Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante ( ASSÉ ) facebook gro" title="Photo: Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante ( ASSÉ ) facebook group" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p><em>Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. <a href="https://secure.rabble.ca/donate/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chip in</a> to keep stories like these coming.</em></p>
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<p>Hundreds of thousands of public employees are on one-day strikes this week. They're protesting stalled labour negotiations.</p>
<p>Collective contracts expired on April 1 of this year. The Quebec Liberal government has been refusing to budge, as has been the case with its cuts to many services, notably health care and education.</p>
<p>Despite considerable opposition, the Couillard's Liberals have stuck firm to their austerity agenda, eroding what is collective in favour of privatization and services available only to those with money enough to pay.</p>
<p>Labour unions are understandably focused on their collective agreement negotiations. Other groups, including students, are also planning to escalate their pressure tactics in what they see as a broader struggle against neoliberal economics and the capitalist system.</p>
<p>The strike actions this week signal an escalation of pressure tactics. A further step is planned for early December when over 400,000 people plan to be on strike if labour negotiations remain unresolved. </p>
<p><strong>Consistent and mounting pressure</strong></p>
<p>While the federal election took eyes away from developments in Quebec, organizers there have been steadily strategizing and planning. </p>
<p>Junior college (CEGEP) <a href="http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/french-teachers-strike-to-protest-proposed-changes-to-contract-and-class-sizes" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">teachers have already held strike actions</a> this fall, with 34,000 teachers walking off the job on September 30. Cuts to education funding, increases in class sizes, increased work hours, and austerity in general have been their focus. </p>
<p>A demonstration of <a href="http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/tens-of-thousands-of-public-sector-workers-demonstrate-against-austerity-wage-freezes" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">150,000 people took to Montreal's streets October 3</a>. The event was put on by labour unions organizing together under the banner of the <em>Front commun</em> (Common Front), which altogether represents over 400,000 workers.</p>
<p>This week, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/public-sector-strikes-common-front-of-unions-releases-details-strike-dates-1.3284513" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">on Oct. 26, 27, 28, and 29, strike actions continue</a> all over the province (<a href="http://frontcommun.org/actualite/greve/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">full listing, in French</a>). Health-care workers and others will be joining teachers in withholding their labour. According to labour law essential services like health care will not be affected significantly.</p>
<p>The front commun is planning the largest strike action in view, to be held on December 1, 2 and 3 with over 435,203 set to be on strike, assuming contract negotiations remain stalled.</p>
<p>Workers have been asking for asking for a 13.5 per cent wage increase over three years while the Quebec government is offering three per cent over five years. </p>
<p>"This intransigence of the government is what is forcing us to use the strike as a last resort. To date we have used all the means at our disposal," says David Boyer, President of the FTQ (Quebec Federation of Workers). </p>
<p><strong>Pushing against austerity outside of salary negotiations</strong></p>
<p>CEGEP teachers are by-and-large not included in those negotiations, and are protesting conditions like class sizes and work hours, as opposed to salary. Parents, students, and teachers have <a href="http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/est-quebec/2015/10/01/004-chaine-humaine-parents-ecoles-publiques-greve-enseignants-compressions-bas-saint-laurent.shtml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">formed human chains around schools</a> this fall to symbolically protect their schools.</p>
<p>ASSÉ, the umbrella organization of radical student associations, is returning to the anti-austerity scene after internal battles around the Printemps 2015 (Spring 2015) mobilization. </p>
<p>The organization has created a a mobilization hub, <a href="http://unmouvement.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">unmouvement.org</a> (One Movement), describing the problem of austerity and explaining the need for escalation of pressure tactics up to and including a strike. ASSÉ also initiated an informal coalition, Rassemblement Syndical en Education (Union Gathering for Education) to unite and strategize anti-austerity efforts of various unions in the education sector.</p>
<p>Several campus associations have strike mandates for a day or more the first week of November. To coincide with strikes, ASSÉ is organizing <a href="http://unmouvement.org/event/manifestation-nationale-pour-un-reinvestissement-massif-dans-les-services-publics/?instance_id=40" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">a demonstration in Montreal on November 5</a> called We Know We Are Not Alone: For a Massive Reinvestment in Public Services.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pressegauche.org/spip.php?article23891" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Community groups will also be on strike for parts of that week</a>, protesting austerity and the dismantling of public services.</p>
<p>Maintaining communication between the moving parts in Quebec is no easy task, but groups are trying, like the <a href="http://nonauxhausses.org/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Red Hand Coalition</a> (full translated name: Coalition Against User Fees and Privatization of Public Services). </p>
<p>The Red Hand Coalition, ASSÉ and others share a similar perspective in opposing austerity and neoliberalism. It now remains to be seen how unions, deep in contract renegotiations, use their collective power to fit into other broad struggles. Will organized labour push for gains in the rest of society, or leave the stage if and when they secure sufficient gains in their own contracts?</p>
<p>Winning anything, including current salary demands, from this Quebec Liberal government would be a significant victory. But many in Quebec are hoping for a wider resistance. Parts of the scene will play out as tactics escalate through the fall and strike numbers mount.</p>
<p><em>David Gray-Donald is a journalist and community organizer based in Montreal and Toronto focusing on social movements and privilege.</em></p>
<p><em>Photo: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/asse.solidarite/photos/a.744097845616232.1073741827.124466274246062/1239120059447339/?type=3&amp;theater" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante ( ASSÉ ) facebook group</a></em></p>
</p></div></div></div>Tue, 27 Oct 2015 17:23:51 +0000rabble staff121251 at http://rabble.caFact check: Harper says public sector workers shouldn't fear a Conservative victoryhttp://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/fact-check/2015/09/fact-check-harper-says-public-sector-workers-shouldnt-fear-conserv
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Nora Loreto</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/13257148314_a39199de7f_z.jpg?itok=6_509yWj" width="1180" height="600" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p><em>Want to see an election campaign fact rich and spin poor? <a href="https://secure.rabble.ca/donate/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Chip in</a> to keep our fact check blog up to date.</em></p>
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<p><strong>The claim: Public sector workers should not fear a Conservative victory. "They really should not be worried," Harper said. Is this true?</strong></p>
<p>In the <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-politics/were-not-going-to-pay-people-who-are-not-sick-harper-says-sick-leave-changes-will-strengthen-public-service" rel="nofollow"><em>National Post</em> yesterday</a>, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper said that federal public sector workers have nothing to fear if his party is re-elected.</p>
<p>He was speaking specifically to public sector workers in the federal bureaucracy, not other workers, like Posties who have everything to fear of a Harper victory.</p>
<p>Should public sector workers breathe easy now that Harper has calmed their fears?</p>
<p>Probably not. </p>
<p>One of the biggest changes that Harper hopes to oversee is to ensure that sick benefits only help people who are "actually ill." The assertion, of course, is that public sector workers have nothing to fear if they only take sick days when they are sick.</p>
<p>This isn't actually about sick leave, though the soundbite is a piece of Conservative gold. </p>
<p>This past year, <a href="http://rabble.ca/news/2015/06/unions-resist-federal-government-seeks-changes-to-employee-sick-leave-provisions" rel="nofollow">the Conservatives passed Bill C-59</a> which fundamentally changed how workers could access sick and long-term disability leaves. The changes would pull $900 million worth of benefits away from public sector workers. This change was a key part of how the Conservatives managed to balance this year's budget.</p>
<p>Federal public sector workers are able to bank sick days to be used when needed. This is most significant when a worker needs to take a short-term leave for illness (fewer than 13 weeks). This benefit was achieved through many rounds of collective bargaining: both the Treasury Board and the workers' union have agreed to organize sick days in this way.</p>
<p>Under Bill C-59, the Federal government is trying to circumvent the process of collective bargaining and simply impose a new sick day regime. "What they certainly have done is said that they will reach in, anytime in the four years, pull [sick leave] out of the collective agreement and impose a short-term disability program on us," said <a href="http://rabble.ca/news/2015/06/unions-resist-federal-government-seeks-changes-to-employee-sick-leave-provisions" rel="nofollow">PSAC president Robyn Benson at the time to <em>rabble.ca</em>.</a>This attack on workers' rights has driven <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/public-service-unions-file-charter-challenge-over-sick-leave-changes-1.3132694" rel="nofollow">13 of the 17 unions that represent federal public sector workers to file with the Ontario Superior Court and a Charter Challenge</a> to stop the clear attack on workers' rights. </p>
<p>If the Conservatives get away with imposing the changes to sick leave, the unions are effectively rendered useless: if management can ignore collective bargaining, the role of protecting workers will no longer be necessary.</p>
<p>The Conservatives have consistently attacked unions since taking power. They have used bureaucratic measures to undermine unions, attack workers and undermined regulations that have made Canadians less safe. </p>
<p>Federal workers have also been targeted for political activity. This week, <a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/j-baglow/2015/08/punishing-birdwatching-songwriter-ensures-harperman-place-canadian-f" rel="nofollow">"Harperman" singalongs are happening across Canada to support Tony Turner,</a> a federal scientist, who wrote and recorded a song that protests Harper's record. He was subsequently suspended from work after allegations that the song puts him in a conflict of interest. Turner studies migratory birds for Environment Canada.</p>
<p>Public workers who are happy to place their lives in the hands of Stephen Harper might have nothing to fear, but workers who believe in free and fair collective bargaining, who have opinions and who value the neutrality of the bureaucracy should be skeptical of Harper's promise to be nice.</p>
<p><strong>Verdict:</strong></p>
<p><img src="/sites/rabble/files/node-images/truthiness_meter-error.png" width="350" height="250" /></p>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
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</p></div></div></div>Tue, 15 Sep 2015 15:57:18 +0000Fact Check120241 at http://rabble.caRight-wing interest group claims on public sector wages baselesshttp://rabble.ca/incahoots/2015/06/right-wing-interest-group-claims-on-public-sector-wages-baseless
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-11 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/cahoots-organization/canadian-union-public-employees">Canadian Union of Public Employees</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">June 5, 2015</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://cupe.ca/right-wing-interest-group-claims-public-sector-wages-baseless" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Right-wing interest group claims on public sector wages baseless</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-summary field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Claims that public sector workers make significantly more than their private sector counterparts are simply untrue. </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/economy">Economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/labour">Labour</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/public-sector-workers">public sector workers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags/canadian-labour-movement">Canadian labour movement</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags/private-sector-workers">private sector workers</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-23 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/regions/ca">CA</a></div></div></div>Fri, 05 Jun 2015 15:33:52 +0000rabble staff118449 at http://rabble.caNew information on federal job and service cutshttp://rabble.ca/incahoots/2013/04/new-information-federal-job-and-service-cuts
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-11 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/cahoots-organization/canadian-centre-policy-alternatives">Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">April 8, 2013</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/default_images/rabble-filler-photo.jpg" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/updates/new-information-federal-job-and-service-cuts" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New information on federal job and service cuts</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-summary field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">After four austerity budgets and lots of hide and seek, there are finally some answers about what services federal departments are going to cut.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/labour">Labour</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/politics-canada">Politics in Canada</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/ccpa">ccpa</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/federal-budget">federal budget</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/public-sector-workers">public sector workers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2701">austerity budget</a></div></div></div>Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:10:39 +0000mattman100196 at http://rabble.caBullying workers in the attack on labour http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/08/bullying-workers-attack-labour
<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-22 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/issues/economy">Economy</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/issues/labour">Labour</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-for-node field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://rabble.ca/sites/default/files/styles/large_story_850px/public/node-images/garbage_0.jpg?itok=dLMaLCps" width="1180" height="600" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><p>Now that we've discarded our garbage workers by the side of the road, I guess we can all feel better.</p>
<p>The lime green private garbage trucks rolling through the western half of the city allow us to send a powerful message to all public sector workers: in these tough economic times, don't expect to enjoy niceties like job security.</p>
<p>Mayor Rob Ford's determination to privatize Toronto's garbage service -- even though the real savings are likely to be minimal -- suggests the actual goal isn't saving the public money, but attacking unions.</p>
<p>This would certainly fit with the anti-union ferocity on display since the Harper government won its majority last year, and the McGuinty government's apparent keenness for a showdown with teachers and college faculty.</p>
<p>Mayor Ford and his sidekick brother Doug like to denigrate "jobs for life." As Doug put it: "We're going to target 'jobs for life' whenever we can, because nobody should have a job for life."</p>
<p>Hold on there, Ford brothers. Why such venom at the notion of a "job for life"?</p>
<p>Don't we want to encourage people to work all their lives? That used to be considered part of the work ethic. It's not as if anyone is seeking "welfare for life."</p>
<p>Employees can always be fired for just cause. The point of job security -- a key right won by unions -- is to give employees security against arbitrary firing.</p>
<p>But removing that sort of security -- leaving workers fearful and therefore malleable to the demands of their employers -- has been a central aim of the right and segments of the business community.</p>
<p>Perhaps the attack on unions isn't surprising, given the ongoing recession caused by the 2008 financial crash. Better to turn the 99 per cent against each other -- union against non-union, private sector against public sector -- rather than allow that anger to boil up against the 1 per cent.</p>
<p>It's reminiscent of the tale about the capitalist and the worker who order a pizza together. When the pizza arrives, the capitalist reaches in and helps himself to eleven of the twelve slices, then whispers in the ear of the worker: "Watch out for that union guy over there. He's got his eye on your slice."</p>
<p>As long as the right can keep workers envious and suspicious of each other, the focus won't be on those at the top, where the benefits have actually gone. As Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney noted last week, corporations are sitting on $500 billion in cash, reflecting the growing share of business revenue in recent years that has gone to profits, not wages.</p>
<p>(Labour's share of Canada's national income has fallen from 65 to 60 per cent since 1990, partly because of policies like privatization and deregulation, the OECD's Employment Outlook reported last month.)</p>
<p>And so a photo of a napping TTC collector was used in 2010 for an Internet campaign against unionized workers. After the humiliating public attacks, the worker, who had a flawless 29-year TTC record (including saving the life of a disabled man), took a medical leave and died 10 months later.</p>
<p>Not deterred, the <em>Toronto Sun</em> posted a photo of another napping TTC collector last April. Gotcha!</p>
<p>But while public sector workers are bullied these days, business leaders are treated as semi-gods.</p>
<p>Since the Conservatives took power, business leaders have enjoyed a two-day private retreat with the finance minister each summer, just in case they hadn't already managed to communicate their views to him at other private functions, not to mention through the pages of the newspapers they own.</p>
<p>The business leaders used their retreat last summer to urge Jim Flaherty to adopt measures to reduce workers' pay and to implement U.S.-style right-to-work laws aimed at limiting union power, according to government documents reported in the <em>Globe and Mail </em>earlier this month.</p>
<p>So while the economy remains stalled with business leaders declining to invest their surplus $500 billion, we're encouraged to vent our anger by firing city garbage workers and making sure we catch every one of those napping TTC collectors.</p>
<p><em>Linda McQuaig is author of</em> It's the Crude, Dude: War, Big Oil and the Fight for the Planet <em>and </em>The Trouble With Billionaires. <em></em><em>This article was first published in the</em> <a href="http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1219734--they-shoot-baby-hippos-don-t-they" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Toronto Star</a>.</p>
<p><em>Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinkmoose/2534935363/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Anthony Easton/Flickr</a></em></p>
</p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-9 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/27835">workers rights</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/anti-union">anti-union</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/public-sector-workers">public sector workers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/corporate-greed">corporate greed</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/tags-issues/mayor-rob-ford">Mayor Rob Ford</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6645">corporate cash</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/26415">unionized workers</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/category/tags-issues/job-security">job security</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/category/bios/linda-mcquaig">Linda McQuaig</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-story-publish-date field-type-date field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="date-display-single">August 28, 2012</span></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item1 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/progressive-economics-forum/2012/08/dead-money-and-corporate-cash-hoarding" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dead money and corporate cash hoarding </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item1-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Kudos to Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney for raising the profile of the over $500 billion Canadian corporations are holding in excess cash surpluses and not investing in the economy.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item2 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/behind-numbers/2012/08/bank-canada-governor-says-end-privatization-gains-and-socializ">Bank of Canada governor says to end privatization of gains and socialization of losses </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item2-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">When even the governor of the Bank of Canada is talking about inequality and the unfairness of privatizing gains and socializing losses, we know we have gone badly wrong in our economic thinking.</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item3 field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://rabble.ca/columnists/2012/07/shooting-baby-hippos-sake-austerity" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shooting baby hippos for the sake of austerity </a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-related-item3-desc field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In the 1990s, CTV broadcaster Eric Malling told Canadians the sad tale of a baby hippo shot by authorities at a New Zealand zoo. They had big deficits, so there was no money to expand the hippo pen.</div></div></div>Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:46:07 +0000rabble staff94935 at http://rabble.ca